In the aftermath of a sales season that rattled some rivals, Ulta Beauty posted fiscal gains for its seven-week holiday period from November 11 to December 29, 2012. Total sales for the period were $475.6 million, a 23.2% increase from the prior-year holiday time frame, while comparable store sales increased 7.4%, the company stated.

Ulta’s comparable store sales figure exclude e-commerce sales, the company noted.

Chuck Rubin, Ulta president and CEO, stated: “We were pleased with our holiday sales performance given the numerous national news events that appeared to have curtailed customer purchasing behavior across most of retail. After a record sales performance during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, sales in December slowed before strongly rebounding the weekend before Christmas. Customers were more sensitive to value as they shopped our stores and online throughout the holiday period. We believe we gained market share across our major categories, with prestige skincare and cosmetics delivering our strongest growth. We are confident our strategy will continue to drive market share gains and positions us well for long-term growth.”

The November 11, 2012 to December 29, 2012 period corresponds with Ulta’s holiday marketing initiatives and represents the seven full weeks beginning the week before Thanksgiving through the end of the week of Christmas, the retailer noted.

As of December 29, 2012, Ulta Beauty operates 550 retail stores across 45 of the United States and an e-commerce website, www.ulta.com.